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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · stem · bore · bass · pitch · cue · mine · cold

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bass — low music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cue — a hint
  19. bore — to tire
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bore — to drill
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com